gregory on "meet the press." nbc news white house correspondent kristin welker has details. >> reporter: on "meet the press," president obama continued his public campaign to pressure congress. >> if congress doesn't act, then everybody's taxes go up. and for the average family, that could mean a loss of $2,000 in income, and the whole economy could slow down at a time when the economy's actually starting to pick up. >> reporter: he again called on lawmakers to strike a deal or hold a vote on his plan which would raise tax rates on wealthy americans, a major sticking point for republicans. >> the way they're behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest americans are protected. that seems to be their only overliove overriding theme. >> reporter: after the interview, republicans accused the president of assigning blame instead of leading. >> when they say leadership falls on you, mr. president, you don't have a role in breaking this impact? you've had a tough go with congre